Aim for Ace
by Chemphy
Summary: Trey had been secretly in love with someone for a long time... For someone with such good aiming, would he manage to hit his target this time? Warning: Trey X Ace


"Trey?"

Trey flinched, nearly hitting against the wooden bookcase as he stumbled behind hastily.

"What are you–" Machina's voice trailed off when he followed his gaze, a mischievous glint came over his eyes. "Ohhh…" He said in a sing-song voice.

"Shhh," Trey shushed him quickly.

Machina threw his head back and laughed. "Come on, he–"

"Can you guys cut it out over there?" Ace's voice floated over their shoulders.

Both of them straightened themselves immediately, trying to wipe off the guilty look from their faces.

"Hey, Ace, how long have you been here?" Machina asked pointedly, grinning at Trey as he did so.

Trey had to suppressed an inward groan. Machina couldn't have been more obvious.

Ace stared from Machina and Trey suspiciously but then the innocent smile was back on his face. "Just did. So what are you guys talking about?" Ace asked, sticking his hands on his hip. "Are you guys here to do some reading?"

"What?" Machina groaned loudly, earning sharp glances from on-lookers and someone shh-ed them. Not that Trey could blame them, they were at the Crystarium after all and Machina was a bit loud.

"You guys should think of doing a little reading yourself," Ace turned to look at them with a preaching smile, one book under his arm. "It'll help to get you into higher education." His tone almost implied that if they didn't do any more study, they wouldn't be able to pursue a better education.

"That again?" Machina shook his head. "You don't have to tell me that over and over again. Right, Trey?"

Machina jabbed Trey lightly in the rib, causing his spirit to float back in his body. He quickly closed his mouth and said, "Yeah, yeah." To be honest, he wasn't even listening to a single word Ace or Machina was saying just now, Ace looked especially cute when he was wearing those spectacles.

"Anyway, you said you'll come with me today," Machina said teasingly.

Hot jealousy seared through Trey's body instantly. Trey could practically taste the closeness between those two, he had always knew that they were close to one another but he had never expected this. Both of them continued their friendly bantering, punching one another playfully occasionally. He felt like an outsider when he was just standing there and watching those two chatting with one another, totally ignoring his presence. He couldn't believe this. He thought… Ace would only be that way with Izana…

Machina suddenly looked up. Something flickered across his face then a grin curved his lips upward. "You know what, forget it, I'll let you off the hook today," Machina said suddenly.

"Huh? What?" Ace appeared confused.

"Trey'll take over from me," Machina patted Trey on the shoulder gently before he walked out from the library.

"What?" Trey fumbled, he did a double take, but before he could realised what happened. Machina was gone, his laughter still lingering in the spacious room between them. Even so, Trey felt like suddenly all the air were sucked out, he was starting to hyperventilate from being alone with Ace.

Ace was looking at the door fondly. "That Machina. Sometimes I think he's worse than Izana–"

The moment he said that, his cheeks turned rose red, then he scratched his head, turning away, not bothering to finish his sentence.

Trey knew that no matter what, Ace would always compare everything to the perfect Izana. He knew that yet it still hurt to hear Ace spoke that out loud.

"So, why are you here again?" Ace turned to look at him with that sweet endearing smile and suddenly all the annoyance inside Trey evaporated. He couldn't stay annoyed with Ace for long.

"Well, I was just… looking for a book," Trey invented the excuse on the spot. That sounded like something reasonable to say in the Crystarium.

"Oh, what title? I can help you to find," Ace offered.

Trey winced. Now what? "Erm, you know what, forget about the book, I decided that I don't need it anymore." He gave a little, awkward laugh, waving his hand dismissively. "Do you want to go for a walk?" Trey quickly suggested. "I heard that a walk is good to increase the blood circulation in your brain, helps you remembering stuffs, you know?" Trey didn't know how true that was but he was willing to say anything to get Ace alone with him.

"Really?" Ace hung onto his every word, believing him instantly. So cute. He was as trusting as a chocobo. "No wonder I haven't been making any progress…" He muttered to himself, tapping his fingers against his chin thoughtfully.

"Let's go?" Trey immediately jumped on the chance.

"Sure! Wait, just let me get my things packed up," Ace said, rushing over to the table had been occupying just now, putting his books into his bag.

Trey fingered the strap of his keyboard bag nervously as he waited for Ace. It was super rare for them, just the both of them to be alone. Sometimes with such a big family like Class Zero, it was really great, like having thirteen close siblings, but when he wanted some alone time… well, that was really hard.

He had planned this for some time. And today's the day! He would make good use of this time to tell Ace how he really feel but… his mind was whirling, his palms were sweating and his vocabulary was all jumbling up. Dang it. Of all times, how could it happened now?

They walked in silence across the foyer.

"So… what are we doing?" Ace spoke up first.

"How about the outer garden? We can get some fresh air," Trey said. _And some quiet time together_, he added silently to himself.

"Wonder where's everybody," Ace voiced out the question aloud as they passed through the empty Class Zero classroom.

"They're probably busy studying somewhere," Trey said. No need to mention that he had used some tactics to clear them all out so they wouldn't be interrupted by anyone. Especially Nine who liked to lounge at the outer garden, Nine was already otherwise occupied today.

As soon as the door of the outer garden was opened, cold wind blew past them, sending tingles of pleasure across their skin.

"It is… pleasing…" Ace smiled, enjoying the cold wind ruffling his hair.

Trey turned his head to the side, wanting to say something but when he caught sight of the sparkle in his stunning blue eyes, the honey blond hair that glowed under the sunlight, and that gorgeous innocent smile he loved so much, the words just stuck at his throat.

He turned away, tugging away at the knot on his tie, praying that Ace didn't see his embarrassing moment just now.

Trey could just spent his entire afternoon staring at Ace but wait, that wasn't what he came here to do. He cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head slightly, trying to think how to start the conversation. "So… I heard about Izana and Emina," Trey said slowly, trying to gauge his attention.

Instant conversation killer.

Pain flitted across Ace's face, fading away a second later. He lowered his head but not before Trey caught sight of the dark look on his face. "O -Of course," Ace fumbled. "The whole new spread like wildwater, I mean wildfire…" Ace stammered, jumbling up his words.

"I just–" Trey paused, his hand froze in mid-air as if he wanted to stroke Ace's head. What was he thinking. Ace looked so sad. He just wanted to help alleviate his pain. But no, it might scare Ace. He clenched his fingers and pulled his hand back by his side. "I was just wondering… how do you feel?" Trey pressed on. The moment the question was out of his mouth, he almost want to hit himself. How could he asked such a tactless question? Although this had been his point all along. The curiosity was eating him alive. He needed to know.

Ace looked shock, like a frightened rabbit trying to avoid his stare. "Me? I'm fine," his voice sounded shriller than usual. "I mean, why would I–" he gulped as he tried to form his next words. "I'm not Emina's fan," he finished softly, fixing his insistent gaze on the ground. His action cleared away the last of doubts that Trey had. Ace did liked Izana. He had suspected that much previously. If Ace didn't like him, he wouldn't react this way.

"Did you hear about Nine?" Trey changed the topic swiftly.

"Yeah." Ace struggled to keep the bitterness out from his voice as he smiled faintly. "For someone who was always so calm and don't care type, he could appear to be a sore loser sometimes."

"Yeah…"

An awkward silence fell upon them, Trey wanted to comfort him, but he knew that Ace didn't want anyone to find out about his secret crush on Izana. After all, Trey had always been watching him closely from far. He had always kept an eye on his target. Ace was heading for downward spiral, Trey could sense it as he stared at the door of the cemetery with a faraway wistful look in his eyes.

Trey wanted to cheer him up. "Hey, want to hear a song?"

Ace visibly brightened up at the news, happy for a distraction.

"I've a surprise for you," Trey admitted, slowly taking out the electronic keyboard from behind him.

"Huh?" Ace cocked his head to the side in surprise.

"I've been practicing," Trey said, setting up his keyboard.

"Oh, you mean the band you set up with Jack and King?" Ace smiled encouraging at him. "That's great! When is your first performance? I'll be there." The beam on his face was so dazzling that Trey could hardly take his eyes away from him.

"Trey?" Ace cocked his head to the side thoughtfully.

"Next week, actually, at the Ready Room."

"I'm there," Ace confirmed confidently.

"Thanks," Trey replied, momentary abased by his action. He began to set up his keyboard, placing it on the stand. "So, do you want to hear it first?"

"You mean, I'm your first fan?" Ace asked teasingly.

Trey's heart fluttered with excitement at the word. "Yeah, if you want to be…"

"Of course, I'm yours–" Trey's heart nearly stopped beating for a second, "Jack's and King's biggest fan," Ace said brightly.

"Oh." The election feeling inside him vanished. Right. He was the one that over reacted.

Ace sat down on the bench, waiting expectantly for his performance.

Trey cleared his throat, trying hard to swallow his saliva. His throat felt dry. He hadn't felt this nervous in a long time, not even when fighting the Rursum Arbiter, knowing that they might die.

Ace's eyes widened in surprise when he heard the opening key, then he closed his eyes in consternation, bobbing his head to the melody. This was it. His present. He was so anxious that his fingers shook. He had practiced the same piece over and over again, training his fingers the exact precision and force to use.

"Walk on wandering souls

For your respite we pray

Let our humble song clear your hearts of dismay,

Rekindle the flame in your souls and set you free

So walk on and become the light that guides the way–"

Both of them sang together, their voices melded together perfectly like soprano and bass. Ace stopped after the first few verses, the only part of the song he knew, he was about to say something to Trey when–

"You stare up at the stars in the clear, endless skies

Slowly fading lights shining back in your eyes

Completely consumed with your search for certainty

You'll lose sight of everything and get left behind."

Ace's mouth fell wide open as he fixed his shock blue eyes at Trey.

Trey held his gaze as he continued to sing, his voice trembled with trepidation, unsure of how Ace would react. Then slowly, Ace's face relaxed into a small smile.

Trey continued to sing with confidence this time. This was all for him. A solo performance. Only for him.

When he finished signing the last word, Ace clapped his hand. "That was really good," he said, a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. "It was better than mother's singing–" then he flinched. "Although, I'll really appreciate if you don't mention this to mother," he said shyly.

"Of course, it's our little secret," Trey said, his heart fluttered at the mention of the word 'our'.

"So are you going to play that song for your performance?" Ace asked excitedly.

"No." Trey rested his fingers on the keyboard so Ace couldn't see his shaking fingers.

"Why not?" Ace appeared surprised.

"Well… this song… It was only meant for you," Trey said.

"For me?" Ace placed his hand to his chest in surprise, a tinge of light flush appeared on his cheeks. "You signing is so good, you should share with others."

This was it. Trey decided that this was the time. No more hiding his feelings. This was his one last shot in revealing his true feelings for Ace.

Trey backed away from his keyboard and was right in front of Ace with few long strides. Ace appeared startled by his sudden movement.

"Trey?" His voice wavered with uncertainty.

"I've always been watching you," Trey blurted out.

To his surprise, Ace smiled. "Thanks. I know I can always count on you to watch my back." Ace made a gesture with his fingers, miming Trey pulling a bow.

What? Trey almost wanted to slam his head into the wall. That wasn't what he meant! Okay, so this confession wasn't going the way he had hoped. "No, I mean–"

Ace stared at him in confusion, those ice blue eyes wide with concern. "Trey?"

"I, well, I–"

For someone who had such good aiming and knowledge as him, he just couldn't find the right words to hit his target. He could rattle on for ages when he was giving lecture or one of his favourite topics so why couldn't he find the right words to tell Ace how he felt?

"I mean… I like you," Trey stammered.

Ace could only stare at him in shock.

Ace's card fluttered down from his hand to the ground while an arrow flew past, hitting the card right drop centre and pinning it to the wall.

The End


End file.
